Achieving consistent and quality output during a print operation is one of the most challenging aspects of printer development. Consistent print quality becomes more challenging when a multi-die print head is used, such as those used for Page Wide Array (PWA) printing.
A thermal inkjet drop-on-demand print head may operate under sustained periods of variable ink flux. Often, the print head rapidly transitions from an inactive state (no printing) or less active state where little or no ink is used, to an active state where large volumes of ink are consumed. These transitions can cause non-uniform volumes of ink to be output by the nozzles. When the volume of ink feeding individual the nozzles does not accelerate or decelerate sufficiently fast to match output at the nozzle, the nozzle meniscus can be distended or retracted as compared to the nominal state. The result is often varying ink drop attributes, such as drop volume, drop speed, and drop direction. Under some printing conditions, this can result in unacceptable printing artifacts.